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diff --git a/old/68201-0.txt b/old/68201-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 038fd7a..0000000 --- a/old/68201-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1188 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Indian Legends from the land of -Al-ay-ek-sa, by Harriet Rossiter - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Indian Legends from the land of Al-ay-ek-sa - -Authors: Harriet Rossiter - E. C. Howard - -Release Date: May 29, 2022 [eBook #68201] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg. (This - file was produced from images generously made available by - The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INDIAN LEGENDS FROM THE LAND -OF AL-AY-EK-SA *** - - - - - - INDIAN LEGENDS - From the Land of AL-AY-EK-SA - - - Published by - HARRIET ROSSITER—E. C. HOWARD - Copywrited, July 1925 - Ketchikan, Alaska - - - - - - - - - Al-ay-ek-sa, where once the Red Men bold - Roamed the forests and fished in the streams, - And around their campfires told and retold - Strange legends a thousand years old. - - - - - - - - -INDIAN LEGENDS - -FROM THE LAND OF AL-AY-EK-SA - - -“Many, many moons ago, long before the Pale Faces invaded the land -which the Indians called Al-ay-ek-sa (Alaska, “Big Country”), the Great -Spirit caused the waters to rise and blot out all the land, even to the -tops of the highest mountains.” - -So runs an ancient Indian legend. - -“At that time there was a mighty roaring like the pounding of the waves -upon a rocky shore, and suddenly death and destruction were upon the -people. Some of the terror-stricken natives fled to the mountains, but -the water overtook them and they were drowned. Only a very few escaped -in their canoes. These drifted around until the water went down and -their canoes grated and came to rest on dry land. There they settled -and built their lodges and continued to follow the customs of their -people. - -“This is how blood relations became so widely separated. So a stranger -in an Indian village may enter any lodge before which stands a totem -surmounted by the crest of his family. He is given food and shelter and -may take freely that which he needs. - -“In the days when slaves were as plentiful as the salmon berries that -grow by the running water an Indian chief would free all his prisoners -whose crest was the crest of his clan, even if their tongue was unknown -to him and sounded hostile in his ears. - -“But a member of the Raven clan may not marry a raven or an eagle an -eagle. They belong to the same family and are forbidden to marry.” - - - -In that long ago time when every Indian village had its honored Story -Teller, this and many other tales were told around the campfire while -the smoke curled upward and the moon crept over the mountain. The old -men grunted assent and the young men kept silent, listening. For upon -them must fall the task of handing down the legends and customs of -their people. - -But since the coming of the white man these Story Tellers are passing -away. Only a few remain and they are very old. The youths and maidens -listen not to the tales of their ancestors, and soon there shall be no -one to keep alive the traditions of their people who journeyed long ago -to the cold land of the North. - -So we have set down some of the legends told by the Red Men to their -children in the Land of the Midnight Sun, where sometimes in the -heavens are seen long, gorgeous-hued fingers of light flashing here and -there—“Spirits of departed warriors returned to dance once more their -war dances.” - -Would you know the legend of the Sun, Moon, Star and Rainbow Houses? -Then read the tale as it was told by one of the last great Indian Story -Tellers. - - - - - - - - -THE GIFT OF “TSOW” - - -Farther back than the memory of the oldest Red Man there once lived an -old woman named Cowoh. She was very proud for she was the daughter of a -great chief. She had three sons and one daughter. They lived in the -village of Naha, which was built along one side of a creek. On the -other side, the length of twenty canoes away, was the village of -Tee-hi-ton (Cedar Bark). - -Now in the time of falling leaves, as was their custom, the three sons -went up on the mountain to hunt groundhogs. Each of the young men had -his own lodge and a fine hunting ground in the valley. They set their -traps and three days later the two younger brothers found their traps -full, but those of the eldest brother, Koot-da-nah, were empty. This -continued for as many days as there are fingers on both hands. - -Then the hearts of the two young men were heavy and in sorrow for their -brother they proposed that they should give up hunting groundhogs and -hunt beavers instead. - -So the next morning they went down to a nearby lake where the beavers -had made a big dam with a great tree to keep it from breaking. - -Koot-da-nah said, “I shall knock down the tree and you boys stand ready -to club the animals when the water breaks and forces them out.” - -His brothers were fearful and warned him to be careful, but as the tree -fell Koot-da-nah caught his foot in its roots and, pitching forward -into the lake, was drowned. - -Atch-koog-tdoo-cha shook-ka (he-who-swims-like-a-fish) found the body -face downward on the bottom of the lake. Sorrowfully the brothers -carried it to their lodge. - -Then Too-ke-tni-ka (the-fearless-one) said, “Some evil has fallen upon -my brother’s family in his absence and caused his death. I shall go -down to the village and find out what has happened.” - -So that night Too-ke-tni-ka stole down to the village and, unseen, -crept into his mother’s house. - -When Cowoh heard that her eldest son was drowned, she was full of -trouble and said, “Koshu, son of Chief Yee-khoo, from the village of -Tee-hi-ton has looked with evil eyes upon the wife of Koot-da-nah while -he has been absent and has visited her every night.” - -Then Too-ke-tni-ka said, “I shall kill this man. Do not tell anyone I -am here. I shall hide in the forest and tomorrow I shall come limping -into the village as if my leg were broken. I shall lie down beside the -fire. Tell everyone I am suffering so they will go to bed early.” - -The next day when the shadows lay short on the grass Too-ke-tni-ka -appeared in the village with his leg bound about with the bark of the -cedar tree and went to his mother’s lodge. - -That night, when everyone was asleep, he wrapped himself in his blanket -and waited with his eyes fixed on the door of the lodge. - -Long after darkness like a black curtain had settled down over the -village Too-ke-tni-ka crouched by the dying coals and his eyes were red -in the darkness and his ears were like the ears of the deer in the -forest. - -At last there was a faint sound like the far-off cry of the night hawk -in the woods. The door of the lodge was pushed open and a dark shadow -stole across and entered the room of Kah-ook-too-ni, the Beautiful One. - -Too-ke-tni-ka’s heart beat fast with anger. He listened long and then -rose and crept noiselessly into the room of his brother’s wife. By the -light of his beechwood stick he saw that indeed it was the chief’s son -who lay sleeping by the side of Kah-ook-too-ni. Then he drew his -hunting knife and cut off the head of the wicked one and taking it with -him sped like the wind through the sleeping-village to the hunting -lodge in the mountains where his brother awaited him. - -Now Kah-ook-too-ni was awakened by the trickling of the warm blood -across her hand. When she saw what had happened she was afraid. Knowing -that when the chief’s son did not come home there would be a great -outcry and searching parties would be sent out, she rose and in great -haste dug a grave beneath the bed and buried the body. - -Meanwhile, after Too-ke-tni-ka had told his brother all that had -happened, the two young men went down to the village and placed the -head of the chief’s son over the door of their lodge facing inside. - -In the village of Tee-hi-ton there was much loud talking and angry -looks directed toward Naha when the tidings spread that Koshu, the son -of their chief, was missing. Searching parties were sent out, but as -the waves wash out footsteps in the sand, so had disappeared Koshu, the -fleet-footed. - -Then Chief Yee-khoo called a council of his people. It was decided that -Wook-ya-koots (he-of-the-sharp-eyes) should be sent to Naha to get a -fire and see if he could discover what had become of Koshu. - -Wook-ya-koots walked boldly across the frozen creek and entered the -lodge of Too-ke-tni-ka. As he bent over the fire to light his stick, he -looked stealthily around but saw nothing. But as he paused by the door -on his way out he felt the drip, drip of something on his feet. He went -outside, and, stooping, touched it with his finger. - -It was blood! - -Pretending to stumble, he put out his fire and again returned to the -lodge. As he bent over the coals with his hair falling over his eyes, -he looked and saw the head of the chief’s son over the door. - -Then he made great haste back to his village and told what he had seen. -Chief Yee-khoo called all his braves together. They put on their war -paint and brandishing their war clubs, rushed across the creek and fell -upon the village, killing everyone in it and setting fire to their -lodges. - -Only Cowoh and her daughter, who had hid under their lodge, were saved. -When at last the wild chant of the savage war dance of their enemies -ceased, they stole like black shadows through the forest to the lodge -in the mountains. - -But after a time Cowoh’s heart was troubled. - -“Who now will marry my daughter?” she asked herself. “There is no man -of my people left for her to wed.” - -One day as she walked in the forest with her daughter, At-ku-dakt -(modest-little-one) she cried aloud, “Who now will marry my daughter?” - -At once a little red bird came flying down and said: “I will marry your -daughter.” - -But Cowoh heeded him not. - -Then a squirrel ran down from a tree, a rabbit came out of the woods, a -deer paused in his flight, and each in turn said, “I will marry your -daughter.” - -But Cowoh would have none of them. - -Then Hoots, the great brown bear, came and said, “I can pull up huge -trees by the roots. I can tear a man’s head and body apart. I shall -marry your daughter.” - -At-ku-dakh was terrified and hid behind her mother. Then the earth -began to tremble and the lightning flashed, and in the midst of it -appeared a handsome youth who said, “I shall marry your daughter and -take her up to my father, the Almighty One. You, Cowoh, I shall take -under one arm and At-ku-dakh under the other. Look not out or evil may -come upon you.” - -Cowoh heeded not the warning. When they were passing a cloud she heard -a sound like the roaring of a waterfall and stuck out her head. - -As quickly as thunder follows the lightning, they found themselves -again upon the earth. The stranger was angry, and, pulling out one of -the branches of a tree, put Cowoh in the hole, saying, “Here you shall -stay as long as the world shall last. People shall always hear you -crying in the wind.” - - - -Taking the young girl, the youth flew up to heaven where the Almighty -One welcomed her as his son’s wife. - -When the first son was born, the grandfather, the Great Spirit, -baptized him with water so he would have magic power. Then he put his -feet on the feet of the child. Immediately the baby grew and grew until -he was tall and straight like a young pine tree that grows on the -hillside. He named the child Left-Handed. - -Four boys and two girls were born and in the same way the grandfather -endowed them each with magic power. He taught the boys how to use the -spear and bow and arrow and the girls how to nurse the sick. He taught -Left-Handed how to stick gamble until his skill was so great that none -could equal him. - -Then the grandfather built in the heavens a Sun House which he gave to -Left-Handed. He built a Star House for the second boy. For the third -boy he built a Rainbow House and for the fourth boy a Sky House. Each -house had a round door. Within were blankets and food and rich robes of -fur. - -Calling his four grandsons to him the Almighty One gave them a small -box “tsow” saying, “The time shall come when you will have to fight the -wicked, worldly people of the earth. Then take this box, open one end -of it and they will at once become as the dry leaves in autumn when the -wind crumbles them into dust.” - -The Almighty One took the Sun House with the eldest boy and his sister -and dropped it upon the earth in the center of the deserted village of -Naha. Then he took the Moon, Star and Rainbow Houses and dropped them -down beside the Sun House. - -In Tee-hi-ton the people heard a loud noise like a clap of thunder. -This they heard as many times as there are fingers on one hand. - -The young people began to jeer, but the elders made them keep silent. -“It is nothing,” they said. “It is only Skanson the thunder bird -singing his war song.” So they wrapped themselves in their blankets and -went to sleep. - -The next morning a thick fog hung over the creek so they could not see -the length of their canoe in front of them. But when the mist lifted -they shouted in amazement, for there among the ruins of the deserted -village were four houses, painted with strange figures such as they had -never seen before. - -As they watched they saw young men and maidens going in and out of the -houses. Then they crowded together, asking each other fearfully, “Are -these the spirits of our enemies returned to punish us?” - -After many days Wook-ya-koots, the keen-eyed, said, “I, Wook-ya-koots, -shall go alone to Naha to speak with the strangers and learn from -whence comes these lodges which glimmer in the dusk like the water when -we paddle idly along in the moonlight.” - -The people waited eagerly for Wook-ya-koots’ return, but the sun was -high overhead before he appeared. Showing them a piece of meat he said, -“Look, this is real meat. The strangers are not spirits. They gave me -dried fish, the meat of the mountain sheep and berries to eat. They are -lonely and invite you to a great feast tonight.” - - - -The feast lasted until the moon hid her face and the stars began to -fade from the sky. The next night Chief Yee-khoo and his braves came -again and for many nights after. - -Then Left-Handed said, “Are there any stick gamblers among you? -Tomorrow you shall teach me how to stick gamble.” - -The sun was slipping down behind the mountains when Chief Yee-khoo and -his people arrived, for in those days the salmon might leap in the -streams and the beavers build their dams unheeded while the Red Men -gambled away their blankets and food and even their canoes. - - - - - - - - -THE GAMBLE STICK GAME - - -A great fire chased away the black shadows of night as the Red Men -began the gamble stick chant. First low, then louder and faster, while -they beat on drums made of logs. - -There were six Indian braves on each side. On the ground in front of -each were ten sticks, small and straight, made of cedar. Three long -sticks lay beside them. These were to show how many times each side -won. There were two gamble sticks the length of a man’s finger. The -bark had been peeled from one leaving it smooth and round, while the -other had a ring of bark around the middle. - -Then Wook-ya-koots took the two gamble sticks, one in each hand, and -while swinging them back and forth in front of him, changed them from -one hand to the other so quickly that no eye could follow. But at last -Left-Handed made a motion toward the hand he thought held the ring -stick. The wild chanting stopped. Wook-ya-koots opened wide his hands -and showed the sticks. Left-Handed had lost and threw one of the short -sticks of cedar across to the other side. Wook-ya-koots took it and -stuck it in the ground. - -Then the Red Men again began the gamble stick chant. This time -Left-Handed guessed the hand that held the gamble stick and -Wook-ya-koots threw over a count stick and also the gamble sticks. -Chief Yee-khoo and his braves became the guessers. - -So the game went on until Chief Yee-khoo’s side had ten count sticks -stuck in the ground before them. Then they took them all down and put -up one large count stick. When Chief Yee-khoo’s men had three of these -large count sticks the game ended and he and his braves carried off all -the rich robes and food and blankets which they had gambled for. This -they did the next night and for many nights after. Each night -Left-Handed and his brothers and sisters made a great feast for them. - -Always Left-Handed and his brothers lost until Chief Yee-khoo and his -men had won everything they possessed except one small club made of -bone. - -Left-Handed took this and said, “This is the only thing we have left. -It is worth many blankets, for with it we can kill our enemies. We -shall gamble for this and this time we may be lucky and win.” - -Chief Yee-khoo and his braves began to jeer and ask, “How can a bone -you can cover with one hand kill anyone?” - -At last Left-Handed said, “If you do not believe me I shall show you.” - -He raised the little bone club and slew Chief Yee-khoo and one after -another all of his men except one who made his escape and aroused the -people of Tee-hi-ton. They rushed across the creek and fell upon -Left-Handed and his brothers and sisters with such fury that they were -almost overpowered. - -Then Left-Handed remembered the little box “tsow” which his -grandfather, the Almighty One, had given them. He took the box and -opened one end. At once the worldly people were as the “dry leaves in -autumn when a puff of wind crumbles them into dust.” - -“And,” concluded the Story Teller, as we paddled lazily along, drinking -in the mystic beauty of a starlit Northern night, “to me and my people -the Sun, Moon, Sky and Rainbow are emblems the Almighty One has put in -the heavens to show that the Red Men shall increase and prosper and -people the earth for as long as the sun and moon shall shine.” - - - - - - - - -THE GREAT PEACE DANCE - - -A spring day in Alaska! Since early dawn we had paddled swiftly along -in a world wrapped in a blue haze. On our right tall fir trees rose -mistily from the shore. On our left the faint line of lofty mountain -ranges melted into the blue grey of a cloudless sky. The seagulls -spiraled high overhead, then, swooping low, were lost in the -white-capped waves. The tang of the sea filled our nostrils and the -rising wind whipped the spray in our faces and sent the blood tingling -through our veins. - -We rounded a jutting point and came in sight of the deserted village of -Kasaan. Lofty totem poles were etched against the sky. Some leaned -drunkenly toward decaying lodges half buried in underbrush. - -“Here was fought the last great battle between the Tsimpseans and -Hydahs,” said the Story Teller. “My mother has many times told me the -tale as it was told to her by her grandfather, who took a Hydah maiden -for his wife. She was a blood relation of Chief Skowel, he who was -greatest of all the Hydah chiefs.” - -The rain had begun to fall, so we landed and as we cooked our breakfast -over the campfire he told me the story. - -“You must know that some of my people came from far to the southward -and settled near the Stikine River many, many moons ago. There the -Hydahs came seeking safety from their enemies, the Tsimpseans. The -streams were full of fish. There were deer in the forest and game was -plentiful. They settled there and became rich and had many elaidi -(slaves). - -“See how the totem poles in front of Chief Skowel’s lodge rise high -above all the others! That tells how big a chief he was. In his lodge -was danced the great peace dance which ended the long war between the -Hydahs and the Tsimpseans. - -“Farther back than my grandfather’s father can remember the Hydahs and -the Tsimpseans had made war upon each other. They made raids at night -and the maidens and young braves taken prisoners were treated as -slaves. Every time a chief became sick or died, a totem pole was -raised, or a potlatch given, some of these slaves were killed and their -bodies thrown on the beach to be eaten by the crows. The number of -holes in the ears of a chief told how many potlatches he had given. - -“One day the Hydahs looked and saw that the water was black with -canoes. The Tsimpseans were coming to make war upon them. Twenty young -Hydah braves got into two big canoes and went to meet them. They -offered to make peace with them. But the Tsimpseans had long looked -with longing eyes on their rich hunting grounds, and refused. - -“The Tsimpseans had seven canoes and over a hundred men. But the Hydahs -had two guns which they had traded many furs for from the Pale Faces -far to the Northward at Sheet-kah (Sitka). They shot off the guns and -the noise was like the roar of thunder. Their enemies leaped backward -in terror. Their canoes were overturned and so many were killed that -the water was red with blood. - -“They called upon Sha-nung-et-lag-e-das (God) but he heard them not. - -“So the Tsimpseans surrendered and Chief Skowel gave a great peace -dance. The two tribes were drawn up facing each other. Then a young -brave from each side advanced and choosing one of his former foes -carried him off to his side. He was not allowed to walk throughout the -long ceremony and was treated with the greatest honor. This was to show -that they would now treat each other as brothers and freely visit each -other’s camp fires. - -“If you will visit my lodge in Ketchikan, a day’s journey to the -northward,” concluded the Story Teller, “I shall show you one of the -guns used in that last big fight. It was given to me by my grandmother, -she who was a blood relation of Chief Skowel. She told me it was made -in Sheet-kah (Sitka) in the days when the Russians made many guns and -cannons and built great ships to send over the Big Water. It is a flint -lock and made fine and strong. Many come to see it and offer me plenty -furs or bags of the white man’s money for it.” - - - - - - - - -THE BATTLE WITH THE SAND FLEAS - - -The rain had ceased and the sun had swept aside the veil of mist -disclosing a glorious panorama of sea and sky. We stepped into our -canoe and turned its nose northward. - -The sun was setting in a riot of gorgeous colors as we rounded Pinnoch -Island and saw the thriving little city of Ketchikan stretching for -miles along the waterfront. “Ketch-kaw” the Indians named it, meaning -wedged in between two mountains. The harbor was crowded with ships. -Great concrete buildings rose against the sky. One by one lights began -to flash out from pretty homes crowding hillside and waterfront and -were reflected in the waters of Tongass Narrows. As lovely a scene as -any famed Venice can boast. - -Then the Story Teller broke the long silence. - -“It was here that the Thlingets fought and conquered the Tsimpseans. It -ended the war that began so long ago that no one can remember. One, -two, perhaps three hundred years ago. - -“Before that time the Thlingets and the Tsimpseans were brothers. They -visited and feasted and danced together. So it happened that two -Thlinget princes looked with favor upon a fair Tsimpsean maiden. They -quarreled. Their blood relations took up the quarrel. There were angry -looks and loud words and much fighting. In one of these fights one of -the Thlinget princes was killed. - -“Then the Thlingets hated the Tsimpseans with a fierce hatred because -one of their maidens had brought this evil upon them. In those days the -Indian believed in an eye for an eye, a life for a life. So they fell -upon the Tsimpseans and slew one of the sons of their chief. Then for -many, many moons they made war upon each other. - -“The Thlingets made a big camp at Ketch-kah. They built three great log -forts. One was where Chief Johnson’s lodge now stands. - -“The Thlingets called the Tsimpseans Klah-neets (sand fleas) because -they would pop up and shoot at them, then disappear in the sand and -underbrush, or would steal into their camp and carry off their young -men and maidens and make slaves of them. They came noiselessly and were -gone, leaving no footprints. - -“The Tsimpseans had one small cannon. They had gotten it from the -Hudson Bay Company, far to the southward, in exchange for furs. While -their enemies slept, they carried the cannon to the top of the hill and -fired on the fort. Then a terrible battle was fought. The Thlingets -seized their war clubs and fell upon the Tsimpseans with such fury that -almost all of them were either killed or taken prisoner. Then the -Tsimpsean tribe laid down their war clubs and again lived in peace with -the Thlingets. - -“But,” said the Story Teller, “my people were still at war with a -Thlinget clan that made their camp at Sheet-kah. It started longer, -much longer ago than the war with the Tsimpseans. They fought with bows -and arrows and with clubs made of bone. - -“This was the way the big fight started. Every year my people would -take plenty salmon over to Pinnock Island and hang it there to dry for -their winter food. - -“The Sheet-kah Indians had fine big canoes. They made them of rotten -spruce logs, which they hollowed out with sharp stones. Some of them -held thirty or forty people. In them they would paddle as far south as -Dixon’s Entrance fishing and trading. Once they landed on Pinnock -Island and carried off all the salmon they found there. - -“That winter was long and cold and there was very little food. The old -and many young children died. Then the hearts of my people grew hot -with anger. There was a big fight and Chief Nah-goot was killed by -Schook-klatch, chief of the Sheet-kah tribe. Then they fight, fight, -all the time fight until Captain Cook came. He was the first Pale Face -my people had ever seen. Soon the Red Men began trading furs for guns -with which to fight each other. - -“But at last the great white chief in Washington sent his soldiers to -tell the Red Men that they must live in peace with each other. There -must be no more fighting. - -“Now,” said the Store Teller proudly, “my people live like their white -brothers. Our children go to school. We have fine big fishing boats. -Our lodges are like the white men’s lodges. - -“There,” pointing to where half a mile away a long pier extended far -out from the little village of Saxman, “I hope some day to see an -Indian village like the white men’s villages, where my people will be -able to do all that my white brothers do. Its harbor will be crowded -with fishing boats. There shall be canneries and sawmills so our -children need not seek work in the villages of the white men. The -Indian will no longer be a child. He will be a man. - -“But,” the Story Teller ended sadly, “the young look not with the eyes -of the old. I dream, but my dreams may not come true.” - - - - - - - - -THE FIRST LINCOLN STATUE - - -“It was one of my people, Thle-da, the most skillful carver of all the -Thlinget nation, who carved that totem in honor of the great white -chief, Abraham Lincoln,” said the Story Teller proudly as he pointed to -a lofty totem pole from which the benign face of the great emancipator -looked down upon a deserted Indian village. - -The setting sun had changed the misty blue of Northern skies into a -marvelous canopy of red and gold. It bathed the distant snow-capped -mountains in a rosy light and sent a warm golden glow over the quiet -waters of Nakat Bay as he told the story of how over fifty years ago -his tribe had sought shelter under the Stars and Stripes and been saved -from slavery or complete extermination. - -“My people are of the Tongass tribe of the Thlingets,” he went on. -“They are of the Raven clan. Long before the Pale Faces journeyed to -the land which the white man calls Alaska, they were at war with the -Kok-wan-tans, who belonged to the Eagle clan of the Thlingets and were -always on the war path. They burned our lodges. They carried off our -fairest maidens and our young men and made slaves of them. - -“At last only a few stalwart braves were left to guard our old men and -women and children. They were driven farther and farther away until -they found shelter on a low, sandy island a day’s journey from their -old hunting grounds near Dixon’s Entrance. - -“There their enemies could not fall upon them unawares, for the land -was level as the palm of my hand. They built a great fort of logs and -slept always with their clubs by their side. - -“But the Kok-wan-tans knew that on the island there were no springs of -water and little wood for their campfires. So they waited with the -watchful patience of the Red Man for the time when no longer the smoke -of their campfires should curl upward. - -“One day Kayak, a friendly Indian, noiselessly paddled into the little -cove near the lodge and landed. He told them of a strange ship, like a -great bird, that had come from far to the southward. On it were many -Pale Faces. They had built a big fort on the island of Kut-tuk-wah and -the Red Men were no longer allowed to make war on each other. - -“They had been sent, Kayak said, by their chief, Abraham Lincoln. He -had freed the Black Men who had been slaves to the Pale Faces for many -moons. Now he had sent his soldiers to free the Red Men. The -Kok-wan-tans must wash off their war paint and bury their war clubs. - -“So,” continued the Story Teller, “my people watched and when their -enemies were sleeping they took their canoes and fled to this island, -which the white men now call Tongass Island. Here, guarded by the great -ship “Lincoln,” Chief Ebbetts and his people built their lodges and -again raised their totem poles. - -“For many years they lived in peace and prospered. - -“But the Red Man forgets not. The Tongass Indians were grateful to -their white brothers. They listened when Chief Sewrard visited them and -told them of the great white chief who loved the Red Man. - -“‘We are thankful,’ they said. ‘Our hearts salute him. No longer need -we fear lest we be made slaves and buried beneath the totem poles of -our enemies.’ - -“One day Chief Ebbetts summoned his sub-chief Tsa-kad and said, ‘I am -weary. Soon I shall sleep the long sleep of the old. But my heart turns -to my brother, the great white chief Abraham Lincoln, for what he has -done for my people. We shall make a lofty totem pole and above the -Raven, the crest of our tribe, we shall carve a statue of Chief -Lincoln.’ - -“So Thle-da, my father’s brother—he who could talk so marvelously with -his fingers—was given a picture of Chief Lincoln from which to carve -the statue. He worked while others slept and in the moon of nesting -birds it was finished. - -“Then Chief Ebbetts gave a big potlatch to which all the people in the -village were invited. The great totem pole was erected and for many -days there was dancing and feasting. Around the camp fire the elders -again told how Abraham Lincoln had stretched out his hands to them and -saved them. - -“But,” and the Story Teller shook his head mournfully, “the ancient -village of my people is now deserted. Their lodges are overgrown with -weeds. Even our Abraham Lincoln totem is crumbling away. - -“In these days when men fly like birds and the voice travels swifter -than an arrow to its mark, surely Alaska is no longer thought a -shak-nah-ahm (foreign) country, and our white chief in Washington will -listen and grant the wish of his children that this island with the -first statue ever erected to Abraham Lincoln be cared for so we may -bring our children’s children to look upon it.” - - - - - - - - -A NATIVE ALASKAN ARTIST - - -France has its Millet, Italy its Raphael, and the natives of Alaska -look with almost equal pride upon their Tsimpsean artist, Henry S. -Haldane. He does not know when he was born. It was long before Father -Duncan brought his gift of the gospel to the Alaskan Indians. But no -one can view the paintings of this self-taught native without feeling -that—with proper training—the divine spark implanted in him would have -brought rich fruitage. - -On the wall of Father Duncan’s church in Metlakatla hangs a picture of -an open Bible. So perfect is it that you will have to look closely to -see that it is painted on canvas. It is the work of this artist, -painted over thirty years ago. A hundred years from now it will be -preserved in our national museum as one of the most valuable of early -Alaskan art treasures. - -“Christ’s Agony in Gethsemane” was recently painted by Haldane for the -new Salvation Army Hall in Metlakatla, although he is now almost blind. -The paintings of the Sun, Star, Moon and Rainbow Houses reproduced in -this book are his work. - -The first native photographer in Alaska, unassisted, he acquired a -knowledge of photography that for a time opened up to him an -interesting field of work. But six years ago unkind Fate dealt him a -cruel blow. Born blind in one eye, an accident made him almost blind in -the other eye. While chopping wood a chip struck the eyeball, -hopelessly injuring it. - -Still the urge to create is strong within him. With amazing perfection -of detail and color he paints pictures and carves the totem poles which -portray so vividly the history and legends of the Alaskan Indians. - - - THE END - - - - - - - - -DISTANCES FROM KETCHIKAN - - - SOUTH - - Miles - San Diego, California 1841 - Los Angeles, California 1775 - San Francisco, California 1359 - Portland, Oregon 917 - Seattle, Washington 662 - Tacoma, Washington 687 - Port Townsend, Washington 624 - Vancouver, B. C. 528 - Victoria, B. C. 590 - - - NORTH - - Miles - Nome, Alaska 2620 - Unalaska, Alaska 1687 - Unga, Alaska 1387 - Kadiak, Alaska 937 - Dawson, Y. T. 922 - Valdez, Alaska 664 - Whitehorse, Y. T. 449 - Lituya Bay, Alaska 390 - Porcupine City, Alaska 365 - Skagway, Alaska 337 - Haines, Alaska 325 - Berners Bay, Alaska 299 - Sitka, Alaska 280 - Juneau, Alaska 237 - Treadwell, Alaska 224 - Petersburg, Alaska 135 - Wrangell, Alaska 90 - - - DISTANCES TO POINTS IN THE KETCHIKAN - MINING DISTRICT BY MAIL STEAMER - - Miles - Coronation Island (Mining) 150 - Klawak (Cannery) 140 - Shakan (Marble Quarry) 92 - Copper Mountain (Mining) 92 - (By portage) 52 - Sulzer (Mining; by portage) 46 - Wales Island (Cannery) 62 - Unuk River (Mining) 60 - Lincoln Rock (Lighthouse) 58 - Hunter’s Bay (Cannery) 79 - Bell Island Hot Springs 40 - Boca de Quadra (Cannery) 40 - Tree Point (Light House) 42 - Yes Bay (Cannery) 40 - Hollis (Mining) 39 - Tolstoi Bay (Mining) 37 - Karta Bay (Mining) 30 - Niblack (Mining) 30 - - - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INDIAN LEGENDS FROM THE LAND OF -AL-AY-EK-SA *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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